


Is this how it ends? (This is just the start)

by Mullk6



Series: The world unknown to us (except one, stop lording your knowledge over us, it got old after the first year) [7]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace doesn't understand why this crew likes him, Gen, It works pretty well, Luffy got to them, That's gonna create a lot of ripples, The Ouroboros don't care, The Ouroboros meet Luffy First, The crew accidentally creates deus ex machina, They're in a Pirate Alliance before they're even pirates, at least it's useful, at least officially, he's never met them, it eats scrap metal and electric eels, it's still stupid, new timeline, one minute you're reading and the next thing you know the projector eats the hocus pocus fruit, the Ouroboros disguise themselves as entertainers, the projector is Al's baby now, they knew it was coming, this is why you don't leave devil fruits near inanimate objects
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-04-24 06:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14349894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mullk6/pseuds/Mullk6
Summary: Of all the places they could possibly have landed, Sabaody was one of the worst.At least Alexia figured outwhenthey were pretty quickly. Problem is: they have a 19-year-old Captain who's crazy protective of their 14-year-old First Mate, who is their only lifeline in this crazy world they're stuck in. Whom has just decided they should try get to East Blue while pretending to be some sort of Theater Group.Oh, and they're over a decade before canon. The fledgling crew is not at all confident in their survival.You can thank Vaders_Apprentice for this brainchild.Timeline #3





	1. This is how we do it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vaders_Apprentice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaders_Apprentice/gifts).



Sabaody. Arguably one of the worst places to find yourself in if you were a civilian. Especially if you ran afoul the slavers or the Celestial Dragons. If that happened, you were better off dead. If you found yourself stuck there with no way off the Archipelago? Well... you were screwed. Period.

This was, unfortunately, the fate of a group of seven. The youngest of the bunch had barely managed to drag them into a bar before freaking out. She'd calmed down eventually and told them exactly where they were.

It hadn't been pretty.

But, at least they'd managed to pinpoint where, or rather, when they were, and only after two years of displacement. Shanks' wanted poster and rumors of him having gone to East Blue was a damn good indicator of just when they were.

“Luffy's six...” Al mused as she passed her sister, both waiting tables as Marcus and Jim snuck away with the establishment's money and food.

They were leaving out to sea today. They'd appropriated an old Marine ship, which would enable them to cross the calm belt if necessary. It was almost completely stocked, they were just being extra-careful. They'd been robbing every establishment on the faux-island, more or less.

Shakky's Rip-off Bar had been left alone, for obvious reasons.

They were ready to leave and they'd _have_ to leave, if they wanted to get any sort of training done. It was suicide to stay in Slave-trade and Celestial Dragon capital of the world. They had affectionately named their vessel _Truth_ , after the one series they had all finished. They left the not-island just in time too, if the rumors were to be believed. They'd missed the latest group of Celestial Dragons by a hair.

They were three days out when they actually started discussing just what they should do.

“Anyone got any ideas?” Ed asked, braiding her hair while sitting on a felled barrel which Jonas was patiently waiting for her to get off of, so that he could carry it to the kitchen. Marcus got snippy when his ingredients were in the wrong place.

Alexia was staring blankly at the sky from her place leaning against the guardrail, her hair blowing in the wind “Well, we should probably operate on the assumption we will be labeled as pirates at some point, but maybe we could pretend to be something else.”

“Like what?” Jim called from where he was polishing his twin katanas and holding them to the light, temporarily blinding Lisa who was doing gun maintenance.

“Ow! Jim!” she yelled, lobbing a pipe-cleaner at him.

“Sorry!” said ravenette called back, fumbling to catch the tool that hit him in the face, before tossing it back.

Al's lips twitched as she looked at them “Well, all our pop-culture knowledge doesn't need to go to waste, we already know how to play pretty much every song we can remember. Plus, we can pretty much make movies into plays if we want to. Series too, if you really wanna.”

The 14-year-old had a good point and as she was the expert on the world they had landed in, they were inclined to follow her lead, no matter how dubious they felt about it. Two years had made them grow closer and living in Sabaody? They knew damn well what could go wrong if they disobeyed a direct order from the girl.

They were lucky that Edwina had been studying seafaring. She may be a beginner, but she still knew a whole lot more than any of them did.

Edwina sighed as she stood up, flinging her braid over her shoulder and picking up her tricorn hat, the brand-new accessory looking only slightly out of place on her head “Alright, Kapteeni käskee: we're going to East Blue.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kapteeni = Captain  
> Käskee = Commands  
> Kapteeni käskee = Simon says  
> It's a pun. I could not resist.
> 
> Ages:  
> Pre-timeskip:  
> Edwina: 19  
> Alexia: 14  
> Lisa: 18  
> Jim: 22  
> Jonas: 27  
> Leo: 23  
> Marcus: 21
> 
> Post-timeskip:  
> Edwina: 27-28  
> Alexia: 22-23  
> Lisa: 26-27  
> Jim: 30-31  
> Jonas: 35-36  
> Leo: 31-32  
> Marcus: 29-30


	2. Manipulation is what we do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or, how Garp got suckered into ensuring the Ouroboros meet Luffy.  
> Alexia is so proud of her big sister.

It was almost embarrassing how long it took them to actually get to East Blue, not to mention find Dawn Island. Eight years. Eight. According to Alexia, Luffy would be 14. which meant Ace would be 17, which meant they had probably missed him and he'd already left to make a name for himself.

Well, at least they'd managed to amass some fame for themselves and when they made landfall in Foosha Village, they were actually greeted with awe instead of any sort of suspicion. Which was good, because their slight bad luck had continued and Edwina came face-to-face with Garp the goddamn Fist. She was so glad she'd discarded her hat and looked dreadfully civilian at the moment. If she hadn't, the 27-year-old wasn't sure what she'd have done.

Sure, Alexia had put them through Hell, assisted by Jonas' Hell-Version of an American Ninja Warrior track that was never the same configuration twice. Safe to say, they were in shape and ready for even the New World. Edwina was just proud that she'd cemented her position as Captain due to being the only one able to actually complete the Hell-Course no matter what it looked like. It was also convenient that their shared misery had enabled them to bond anime-style. They were pretty much inseparable by now and they'd groan at the cliché if it wasn't so convenient.

Her place as Captain was also guaranteed due to the fact that her knowledge had kept them alive through the unbelievable hell that was the first half of the Grand Line. No one questioned her orders. No one. This was why they had had no casualties, and they all knew it. It had also helped that Alexia was knowledgeable concerning the One Piece world, otherwise she would have had no forewarning as to the climate changes that were mostly random.

It had still taken her a year to get over her constant freak-outs, not that she was the only one.

That still didn't mean any single one of them wanted to face Garp in battle. Ten years was plenty of time to learn about the world as just a world, without the help of Alexia. _With_ Alexia's knowledge? 

Yeah, no thanks.

But, Ed was the Captain, and thus it was her responsibility to pull the wool over _this_ particular man's eyes, she thought as she plastered a well-rehearsed grin on her face, looking completely innocent and _very much not like a pirate_ , hopefully.

“Ah, Garp the Hero, we did not expect you to be here, it is an honor to meet you.” she said courteously, not saying anything antagonistic, no matter how much she wanted to.

She could remember all to well her sister's reaction to Marineford. The fact that Garp had done nothing to help his grandsons escape did not put him in Ed's good books. At least he hadn't fought Luffy and had let him pass, otherwise Edwina would not have been able to hold back in trying to pummel him.

Garp grinned like a D “So, you are the Bate Entertainment Company? I have a few days left of my vacation, I look forward to your show!” the man laughed.

The Ouroboros Captain smiled much more genuinely as she came up with an idea “Yeah, Our tickets are half off for anyone accompanied by a child younger than 16 and free if accompanied by children younger than 6, so if you got any grandchildren, this is the time to exploit the heck out of their existence. Or just treat them to something different, depending on your mood.”

It was apparent she'd succeeded in her more obvious than usual manipulation, as Garp's face morphed to a thoughtful expression as he wandered away.

Edwina smirked as her sister walked up to her “You're welcome.” she said, feeling smug.

Alexia raised an eyebrow, before smirking herself, lightly slapping her arm “Nice.” she praised, laughter in her voice.

The rest of the crew subtly gathered around them, Jim speaking up “I guess this means we're going all out?” he asked, speaking for everyone.

'Lexia and 'Wina wore the exact same expression of smug excitement as the First Mate chuckled, rubbing her hands together “We'll put on a show like never before.”

With that said, they all thrust their hands forward into a pile, before throwing said hands in the air and going about their unspoken assigned jobs.

They had a Pirate King to influence.


	3. This is the story all about how Luffy was introduced to theater. (And there were ninjas, I guess.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy's resolve intensifies through the power of anime re-told.

“What's a theater?”

This was the innocent inquiry of a 14-year-old boy wearing a straw hat. The word sounded like something Sabo would have known about and Ace would have pretended to know, but Luffy didn't, so he'd ask instead.

Gramps grunted as they walked through the Jungle, towards Foosha Village “It's people dressing up and acting out stories. The Bate Entertainment Group does theater _and_ music, so I'm not sure what they have in store.”

The future Pirate King's eyes were filled with stars at the mention of music. He loved music!

As they got closer, they could already hear music, even if there was no singing to accompany it. Luffy didn't care that much, music was music, but singing was _better_. There was a bunch of new stuff in the empty area outside the town. There was a raised stage and a bunch of raised seats and there was food too! It looked awesome!

Gramps went over to a huge guy to get tickets and Luffy heard him say something about 'the best seats in the house', causing him to blink.

“What house? We're outside. You can't see the stage from a house!” the raven exclaimed.

The big guy with the cool goggles laughed “Don't worry about it, kid.” while handing Luffy his own ticket.

Gramps led the way to the seats, which were in the fourth row, smack-dab in the middle. You could see the entire stage without having to choose which part to focus on, but you were still close enough to see everything really well. Luffy mused that had to be what the goggles guy meant by “best seats”.

He still didn't get the “house” part.

But the seats were _so cool_! They had hidden tables! Which meant Luffy could get more food than just what he could fit in his hands!

Byt the time the show was set to start, there wasn't a single empty seat to be seen, not that Luffy was paying much attention to anything but the food in front of him. That was, of course, before the music started. Luffy turned his gaze to the stage as he chewed, as intrigued as a 14-year-old could be, just in time for a woman with long dark brown hair to appear through the drawn curnains with a microphone in her hand.

“Long ago, and worlds away.” she started to speak, the red curtains opening to reveal a map “There were the great Shinobi Nations, with their own Hidden Villages, where Shinobi were trained to fight for their country during wartime and complete missions during peace, however long that lasted. Of these villages, the most prominent were Iwa in the Land of Earth, Kiri in the Land of Water, Kumo in the Land of Lighting, Suna in the Land of Wind and Konoha in the Land of Fire.”

The map lit up in the correct places as she spoke, causing Luffy's eyes to widen, a mystery map!

“And it is in Konoha our story begins.”

Luffy became immersed in the story and was left in awe by the play-fights the people on stage were doing. It looked so real! He sat on the edge of his seat as Mizuki revealed the truth about Naruto, grinned widely at Iruka's speech, cheered with everyone else as Iruka gave Naruto his own Hitai-ate. He booed at Naruto's team-mates, especially Sakura. Sasuke became better during the Wave mission and Sakura was a little less boring, but still boring. And weak.

Then the Chuunin Exams. The snake man. Neji. Gaara. The revelation that the snake man had killed the Kazekage. Old Man Hokage's death and funeral. Naruto going with the super pervert to find Tsunade. Them returning to Konoha.

Sasuke's betrayal.

Luffy watched as Naruto went on a training trip to be strong enough to bring his nakama back.

There was so much going on Luffy would have been amazed by everything he was able to remember, but he didn't think about that stuff.

Luffy watched. Luffy watched as a tale of hate and love and death and acceptance unfolded. Watched as things he hadn't thought were important turned out to be the premise to something more devastating. Watched as enemies turned to allies because one person refused to back down. He watched as secrets were brought to light and people were unmasked. Watched as the past came to haunt people and how they were finally laid to rest. Watched as everything converged on a single battle, only for the big bad to be stabbed in the back by someone _no one_ saw coming. Watched as a God was taken down.

Then... the true final battle.

The Valley of the End.

“Uzuratonkachi.”

Luffy watched in awe as Naruto finally brought Sasuke home and achieved what he'd wanted since the beginning. To become Hokage.

Something lit inside of Luffy. He was gonna be just like Naruto! He would _never_ give up and he'd make sure none of the friends he'd make on the way died. He'd be strong. Stronger than anyone, so that he'd be able to stand at the end of his journey with no regrets.

He _would_ be Pirate King.

Meanwhile, back-stage, a swordsman and an inventor conversed.

“What do you think? Did we make a difference?” the shorter of the two asked, peeking out at the enthusiastic crowd.

His companion shrugged “Wouldn't know. But you gotta admit, this was probably the best way to go about it.”

They stepped aside as their Captain dropped down from the stage with a large smile on her face “Oh, we did it alright.” she said, casting a glance over her shoulder “Those eyes... are ones of _fire_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just summarized Naruto. I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed.


	4. Pirate alliance (But we're not pirates?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew train Luffy, become attached, and somehow find themselves in a pirate alliance even though, technically, _none of them are pirates yet_.
> 
> Also introducing Alexia's OP gadget, the Devil Fruit Projector.

Luffy didn't go back to the forest. He stayed in Foosha even when Gramps left again. He knew he probably shouldn't still be in the village, but he was too curious and fascinated by the Theater group, Bate or something.

The seven people that made up the group were great! Their cook always made him yummy food and even though they didn't ask for any sort of payment, Luffy helped out by bringing his own meat. Makku just prepared it for him, even alligator! Though for some reason someone always came with him when he said he was gonna hunt 'gator.

Nana-nee said it was 'cause they didn't want him to drown, since alligators lived in water and he was obviously a Devil Fruit user.

Luffy didn't really care. It just meant he could take more meat with him to Makku.

They even helped him train! And not in the scary, painful way that Gramps did! Well, it did hurt, sometimes, but not like the Fist of Love. Lizu's pebbles hurt when they hit him, until he started to be able to dodge them. He could even do it without looking now! Leshia called it Haki, which was a mystery power anyone could have. Jii kept attacking him with his swords until Luffy learned the other kind of mystery power, which sometimes made his skin look black. Leshia also kept mentioning some other powers which they couldn't teach him but Luffy didn't remember much about it, since they couldn't actually do anything about it.

Well, except that one bit that for some reason got stuck in his head.

_“Everything in the world is connected. Everything has a voice, but not everyone can hear it. Those who can have an instinctual knowledge of everything around them. The ability to hear The Voice of All Things lets one become closer to all things.”_

Luffy wasn't sure what it meant, but he was sure he'd started hearing a faint buzzing in the back of his head ever since Leshia had said those words. It kinda sounded like what the Sage of Six Paths said in the play! About Ninshu! Did that mean... that Luffy could learn Ninshu?! Cool!

The straw-hatted teen wasn't one for thinking, but he found himself thinking about the play a lot. It had left its mark on the child and though he did not know it yet, it would affect him greatly.

Luffy became attached. But he wasn't the only one, the crew had noticed that they too had become fond of the little bouncy ball of smiles. Which should have been the first warning. As it was, by the time they were preparing to leave the island, they had already supplied Luffy with a Den Den Mushi, a white Den Den Mushi, trained him in their use and supplied him with a black leatherbound book with the Ouroboros Jolly Roger containing relevant numbers, theirs included. Heck, Alexia had let the kid into the War Room, which contained her Informant Work Station including the Devil Fruit projector. What is the Devil Fruit Projector? Well...

Early on, Jonas had cannibalized his laptop to make a projector so that they would be able to have movie nights, since he had also streamed a lot of movies onto it. A little while later, Jim had found a Devil Fruit. They had placed it beside the machine while Al dug out a Devil Fruit encyclopedia to find out what it did.

“Well, it's not in the book, so who knows what it- where did it go?” she started, looking up from the text, before deadpanning as her eyes landed on the spot previously occupied by said unknown Hocus Pocus Fruit.

Immediately, they had started looking around the room before Liz exclaimed “Oh, come on! Where could it have possibly gone? What, did _the projector_ eat it?”

Immediately afterwards, there was a burp from the direction of said piece of technology, causing the crew to slowly turn and stare at it.

“Yes. The projector ate the Hocus Pocus Fruit. Because of course it did.” Edwina said, completely deadpan.

There was an awkward silence at that, since no one knew how to react to the situation.

It took a few months to figure out exactly what eating the fruit meant for the machine, but from what Al had managed to figure out, it was probably some sort of mental power fruit or perhaps a viewing power fruit of some sort. Because she could see things happening on the Moby Dick in real-time while also being able to watch the entire Sword Art Online Anime even though Jonas had _definitely not_ downloaded it onto his computer. It was actually pretty cool.

It also made her job as an informant _so much easier._ Her already impressive information gathering skills and good reputation suddenly became _godlike_. And it only continued to grew as she continued to master all the functions of the semi-sentient machine.

It also turned out the DF Projector, fondly nicknamed Vipstaakkelnande for the sole purpose of shenanigans, liked Luffy. This was evident since it kept turning itself on when the boy was near and showing him his brother. Al estimated the Fire Logia was just short of meeting Jinbe and having his iconic five-day battle with the Fishman.

She wondered if the projector had a recording function...

But back on track, the Ouroboros crew found themselves in the strange position of being in a pirate alliance with a 15-year-old boy who wasn't even a pirate yet. Heck, _they_ weren't technically pirates yet.

“How did this happen?” Jim whispered in a horrified tone as they waved goodbye to the hyperactive kid whom they hoped to god they had managed to train and supply adequately for the real world.

Jonas smiled even as he murmured “I don't know, I swear that kid has Sky Charisma or something.” not taking his eyes off Luffy.

Liz was the next to speak, saying “We were doomed from the start, weren't we?”

No one could argue with that.

Oh well, it would have definitely gone worse. Now they were headed back to the Grand Line, their business finished.


	5. Bullet (I'm gone)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edwina hates marines. Especially when she has to keep her head down even though she'd like to bust some heads instead of notes.

Ed was about ready to tear her hair out. Here she was, preparing to walk on stage when what she _should_ be doing was busting some skulls. Or maybe walls. Something violent, anyway. Why? Well, the bastard Marine in charge of this particular outpost had arrested her sister for piracy, even though she knew damn well he had no grounds or evidence to support that claim. But alas, her 23-year-old little sister was in a cell in the Marine HQ and the crew had to, instead of rescuing her, maintain a low profile. Thus, if they were to cancel the already scheduled show, the Marines would _definitely_ notice something was off. She could only hope the Captain, Grimore or something, she wasn't sure, didn't do anything irreversible in the meantime.

She was also pretty sure that there was a new ship docked, but hadn't managed to catch sight of what it looked like. She only knew it was big and she hoped to god it didn't belong to Marines. If they had to chase a ship transporting her sister to some unspecified location heads were gonna roll. The only thing she could see past the buildings were the tops of the masts and they practically taunted her as she sung, not feeling it. She'd rather be somewhere else, as would the others, and she wasn't sure if their audience could tell or not.

They were one song away from their 15 minute break when she saw him, the orange hat catching her eye immediately before her eye focused on the body attached to said hat, standing behind the crowd, obviously having just arrived. It took her but a moment's hesitation so screw singing “[Jolene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw)” and instead stomped her foot in a completely different rhythm. 

“[My legs are dangling off the edge,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP077RitNAc)  
The bottom of the bottle is my only friend,  
I think I'll slit my wrist again and I'm gone, gone, gone, gone.”

She could tell Jim, Leo and Liz were confused, before they realized just what song she'd chosen and got the message as soon as they scanned the audience and spotted the very same person their Captain had laid her eyes on. It was only eleven years of playing the same songs over and over again that kept them from messing up the notes, not that anyone would notice small mistakes.

“Gone too far and yeah, I'm gone again,  
It's gone on too long, tell you how it ends,  
I'm sitting on the edge with my two best friends,  
One's a bottle of pills, one's a bottle of gin,  
I'm 20 stories up, yeah, up at the top,  
I'll polish off this bottle, now it's pushing me off,”

Honestly, Ed didn't think anyone would have connected this song to the kid if Al hadn't given them multiple in-depth analysis on his mental state. That and being able to watch Marineford using the Projector made it even easier. 

“So if I survive, then I'll see you tomorrow, yeah, I'll see you tomorrow...”

Because she had to agree, Portgas D. Ace was either suicidal, or just held his life in no importance. And while, yes, she could have chosen a song with fire in it, she didn't want to risk it. Better to do a quick planning session with the Logia completely unaware of any plotting.

“I wish that I could fly, way up in the sky,  
Like a bird so high,  
Oh I might just try,  
Oh I might just try.”

Edwina felt a more genuine grin stretch across her face as their audience clapped “Thank you, thank you, we will now be taking a 15 minute break, be sure to not go anywhere! We have food!”

The crowd laughed at her apparent joke and the Captain smirked at seeing Ace making a beeline for said food. 

Good. She needed him to stay put if she was to get him to help. Now, how to go about it?

Hopping down from the temporary stage and entering their “Staff Only” tent, the leader of the rag-tag group of performers/sort-of-pirates spun around to look at four out of seven members.

“Alright, ideas, shoot.” she prompted.

Leo cocked his head “Well, one of us could either try talking to him while the others are performing... or we need to get him elsewhere to try and convince him to help.”

The others nodded, weighing the options, before Liz added “If he's alone he can't be influenced by his crewmates... so... maybe we need to isolate him?”

More hums and more pondering, before Jonas spoke, slowly and deliberately “Give me... half an hour and I think I can figure something out.”

Edwina nodded decisively and clapped the large man on the arm “I'll leave it to you.”

The second half of the concert went much better than the first, but that was only because the crew actually put their all into the performance. It helped that they actually had a goal now, other than being anywhere but there. Ed was smug to note that Ace didn't look like he was going _anywhere_ any time soon. Though she did wonder what Jonas had in mind for getting the kid to come with them.


	6. Now you see me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> now you don't
> 
> This is not what Ace expected to happen. He just wanted to listen to music, not get kidnapped for who knows what reason.
> 
> Meanwhile, Marco is about to _throttle_ his _friend._

Ace liked the people on stage, they were singing all sorts of different kinds of songs and Ace was pretty sure no one present had heard them before. Scratch that, he could see a few people singing along to some of the songs, but not all of them.

The woman who'd been doing most of the singing, though she had commandeered the drums at least three times during the performance, took a bow as she smiled widely “Thank you, thank you, but we're not done just yet!”

Her exclamation caused the audience to murmur, from what Ace could hear they'd only advertised music, so no one had a clue what he woman was talking about.

“Our dearest handyman and builder, whom you might have seen putting the stage up- well, those of you who arrived on time I mean-” there was laughter from his brothers, catching on that she was making a jab at them and Ace had to roll his eyes, they hadn't even been docked when they started, “has taken an interest in magic. So, let's give it up for the last act of our show!”

There was a round of applause as a big, brawny blond guy came on stage with a closet. What he was gonna do with it he'd probably tell them, but Ace was already intrigued. It wasn't that he didn't like magic tricks, he'd just never found them as interesting as some other people. Those people including-

“Ooooh, I love magic shows!” Thatch exclaimed, practically vibrating in place.

The Fire Logia heard Marco's exasperated sigh and had to hold his smile off his face. Yeah, Thatch _loved_ this stuff.

“Alright, ladies and males of dubious origins,” the man paused for the laughter before continuing “What I have here is a totally ordinary closet, except for the teeny tiny problem that I keep losing stuff I put in it.” the man glared at the piece of furniture in a comedic fashion, causing more laughter. He then turned to smile at the gathered mass of people “Don't believe me? Let me show you.” he pulled out a red drape from... Ace honestly couldn't tell where before continuing as he brandished said fabric like a bull-fighter might “I need a volunteer from the crowd. Don't worry, it's not dangerous... I think.”

Ace laughed at that, and he wasn't the only one, that laughter stopped abruptly when Thatch took hold of him and thrust him towards the stage “Ace! Do it! Do it! Hey, here's a volunteer!”

“Thatch!” the 19-year old hissed, but didn't actually put up a notable fight. Because really, what's the worst that could happen?

The big man with goggles hanging around his neck laughed and waved him up “Alright! Give round of applause for Ace! Don't worry, kid, the closet won't bite. Unless you leave your fingers in the door, then it does.”

Ace rolled his eyes even as he bowed to the clapping crowd, spying a very unimpressed Marco at the very back. He then let himself be waved into the now open closet.

“Enjoy the ride, kid. And try not to fall asleep, it's kinda dark in there.” was the only thing the man said before he closed the doors.

Ace didn't have long to wonder what he meant before he heard the guy's muffled voice starting to speak again. He then ignored that altogether as words appeared in front of him, made from glow-in-the-dark paint.

“ _Sorry 'bout this, it's for a good cause, I swear._ ”

“And now I'll make him-”

Ace hit his head when the tiny space he was in (tinier than the closet should be on the inside, he now realized) suddenly dropped (below the stage, the pirate continued to realize with a small amount of dread) and tilted, causing Ace to grab hold of the handles that made much more sense now. Soon enough he was vertical and the box he was in was picked up by what had to be the rest of the group.

“disappear!”

Ace could hear the crowd 'oohing' at the disappearance even as he was moved further and further away.

“Success!” he heard the female singer crow as they ran with him, a male voice answering her a beat later “Lex would be so proud.”

“Lex isn't here, that's the whole _point_ of this endeavor.” another female voice interjected.

The Fire Logia belatedly realized the box had to be laced with sea-stone with how much energy it seemed to take to stay awake and he wondered what the hell these people wanted from him?

It took an embarrassingly long amount of time, Marco would later reflect, to notice anything was wrong. Thatch was taking up all his attention with his gushing about the food the entertainment group, Bate if he'd heard correctly, had offered to their audience and the disappearance trick they pulled at the end. He himself was impressed by how quickly the group had moved to pack things away during the magic trick, since they'd all but disappeared as soon as it was done.

Still, it shouldn't have taken him half-an hour to notice that something was missing. Or, rather, _someone_.

Marco came to an abrupt halt after turning to speak with Ace, only to realize _that's what was wrong_. Disappearance acts were supposed to end with the person/thing reappearing.

So where was Ace?

“Where's Ace, yoi?” the phoenix asked, looking around and trying to pinpoint him with Haki when visuals failed.

The 4th Division Commander quietened at that and looked around, before turning wide-eyed to Marco, coming to the same conclusion.

“ _Thatch you idiot!_ ”


	7. Spooky scary- well, you get the idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace has decided. These people are _nuts_. And yet, something is urging him to help them.  
>  Perhaps it's the fact that they're asking specifically for his help, rather than Oyaji's.  
> Or maybe it's the Captain's expression as she mentions her sister.  
> Either way, Ace is helping them, no matter how insane they come off as.

Ace was really disoriented, mildly nauseous and somewhat dizzy when the box was finally set down, thankfully upright even though he'd heard the confusion over which way was up. He wondered what it said about them that these people actually worried about setting him down right-side-up. Not that anything made sense about this scenario, except maybe the fact that it was camouflaged so well that his crew had still not realized he was missing.

He wondered how long that would take? Marco should notice, right?

(Back at the abandoned stage, Marco sneezed as he listened to Thatch's rambling, wondering if he was forgetting something.)

“Did he fall asleep?”

“I 'unno.”

Ace didn't have much time to discern who in the company had said that when the doors were opened and he fell out, sluggish. The only reason he didn't hit the ground, or floor, he realized as he looked at the insides of either a house or a ship, was because he was caught by the undersides of his arms and dragged into a chair. He slumped bonelessly into the surprisingly comfy chair and eyed the blond woman who'd been playing the keyboard and the black-haired man who'd been alternating between bass, guitar and singing as they peered at the insides of the box that the rigged closet had spit out.

“Huh, sea stone. That explains it.” the blond said, closing the right-side door.

“I didn't know we had sea stone.” the other commented, straightening from where he'd been scrutinizing the box.

Ace blinked when something was shoved in his face and only took it when he realized it was a bar of chocolate. He probably should have been more sceptic about anything these people handed to him, but...

They hadn't really hurt him yet, and why poison him now?

Still, he looked entirely unimpressed even as he chewed, staring at the lead singer who was now wearing a rather cool hat and a black and white horisontal striped tank top rather than the red sparkly tunic, making her look less like a performer and more like...

Well, more like a Captain, if he was being honest.

The Logia cast his eyes to the box and said the only thing he could think of “I _cannot_ believe that worked.”

The probably Pirate Captain quirked her lip in apparent amusement as she shrugged “Hey, if it helps, it's not like we've ever done this before.”

“That _really_ doesn't make me feel better.” the Whitebeard Pirate deadpanned, before gaining a speculative look “What the hell are you trying to gain, anyway? You do realize Oyaji will obliterate you if you try to ransom me, right?” these guys weren't that stupid, right? They hadn't even secured him in any way.

The blond woman waved dismissively at him “Do we _look_ like idiots?” she said, before pausing, as if thinking of something “Don't answer that.”

There were snickers from everyone present, which had become four with the new arrival of the big blond guy, who was the next to speak “Nah, we don't mean you any harm, we just wanted help.”

That... Ace wasn't sure how to really react to that, because- “You coulda just tried to ask Oyaji. Or literally anyone else, without having to kidnap me.”

The most likely Captain suddenly became serious, stepping away from where she'd been leaning against the round table Ace was sitting beside “We're not asking for _Whitebeard's_ help.” she said, stepping closer and looking him straight in the eye “We're asking for _yours._ ”

Ace wasn't sure why his throat clogged up at that, but he ignored it and cleared his throat instead “O..k, but, who are you? And why _me_?”

He didn't understand.

The brunette sighed and stepped out of his personal space (when had she gotten so close?), looking away, all levity gone “My sister... she was looking through some stuff she definitely shouldn't, but, pirate, so... anyway, she ran into the Marine Captain in charge of the base and I know for a fact he couldn't have possibly seen her actually do anything remotely illegal, she's good at being unnoticeable, yet she was arrested _anyway_.” the woman exhaled violently and Ace could swear she muttered about shoving 'that damn Justice coat down his'- anyway.

The black-haired guy shrugged nonchalantly, his shoulders too tense to do so convincingly “Normally, we'd storm in and get her anyway, buuut there's only six of us and the place is... well... _massive_.”

The big blond guy picked up from there, looking grim “There's no viable way for us to get in and get out without getting seen and even less of a viable way for us to take on _all_ the Marines inside the base.”

The 19-year-old looked around the room “And I fit into this how?”

Please tell him, he's so confused.

The Captain shook herself out of her dark mutterings and gained a slightly unsettling smirk on her lips “Six people who can only be considered veterans in the _first half_ of the Grand Line hitting a base this size would be suicide... but then there's _you_.” the woman steepled her fingers, looking at him with the same eyes Thatch did when he came up with a really devious prank “A Fire Logia who's been in the New World one or two years, is sailing under the Yonko Whitebeard and is either already a Commander or close enough, and lasted _five days_ against the Knight of the Sea, the Shichibukai Jinbe.” she leant closer, a manic glint shining persistently at him in her eyes “And it wouldn't even be that out of character for you to destroy the base.”

Alright, he was starting to see what she was getting at. They wanted to use him as distraction for a rescue that they probably would have resigned themselves to doing anyway at some point even though they knew they'd probably fail.

Well, there was only one thing he could say to that.

“Do I get more chocolate?”

The people in the crew grinned at him and the female Captain laughed “Kid, dinner's on us.”

With that, everyone prepared to leave and Ace was handed another bar of chocolate.

All in all, Ace thought as he munched on the candy, they weren't actually that bad.

Though their people skills could use some work.

**Author's Note:**

> Fanart by Secretuncle on tumblr:  
> Ed: [here ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/9633d21dc72c729c586bc5f72bed5944/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo1_1280.jpg)  
> Al: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2639a5b9148703056a476112f605b45e/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo2_1280.jpg)  
> Lisa: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/44b002ea765f79c45db8623b1b85ef88/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo3_1280.jpg)  
> Jim: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/0957b88bd79189ec66541f3914d0ce57/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo4_1280.jpg)  
> Jonas: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/7f60e58a25844d47b0ee6b00e222185d/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo5_1280.jpg)  
> Leo: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/b49bf69ab002bf38dc5af706e6f2fc57/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo6_1280.jpg)  
> Marc: [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/15bcb0edd755b28f920c251fd1abd710/tumblr_p5litmjU441wxewzuo7_1280.jpg)
> 
> Ages atm:  
> Edwina: 28  
> Alexia: 23  
> Lisa: 27  
> Jim: 31  
> Jonas: 36  
> Leo: 32  
> Marcus: 30


End file.
